The influence of dietary essential fatty acids on uterine C20 and C22 fatty acid composition.

The effect of dietary fatty acids on uterine fatty acid composition was studied in rats fed control diet or semi-synthetic diet supplemented with 1.5 microliter/g/day evening primrose oil (EPO) or fish oil (FO). Diet-related changes in uterine lipid were detected within 21 days.

Acute colonic pseudo-obstruction.

We present two cases of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction, one complicated with perforation. Orthopedic surgery was the pathogenetic factor in both cases. Recovery was successful in both patients after appropriate treatment.

Developmental changes in the fatty acids of rat uterus and the influence of dietary essential fatty acids.

The effect of age on uterine fatty acid composition was studied in rats fed diets of differing fatty acid composition. Uteri of newly weaned 23-day rats had a higher fatty acid content and a higher proportion of short-chain (less than or equal to C18) fatty acids. Higher incorporation of C less than or equal to 18 fatty acids into neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) of young 42-day rats compared with adult 240-day rats was detected.

Analysis of a new hepatitis C virus type and its phylogenetic relationship to existing variants.

Sequences obtained in the 5' non-coding region (5'NCR) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) were obtained from Scottish blood donors and compared with previously published HCV sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of three distinct groups of sequences; two of these corresponded to the recently described HCV types 1 and 2 variants, while viral sequences detected in around a third of the blood donors formed a separate phylogenetic group that probably represents infection with a novel virus species. Nucleotide sequences of this latter group differed from all previously published 5'NCR sequence variants by at least 9%.

Use of serum from patients with polycythaemia or haemochromatosis for laboratory external quality assurance exercises.

Some External Quality Assessment Schemes (EQAS) require large volumes of human serum. During a one year period, 595 units of blood were obtained from 87 patients with haemochromatosis and polycythaemia, who underwent therapeutic venesection at the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Blood Transfusion Service. Serum from 59% of these donations was used in the EQAS for peptide hormones and related substances.

Virus infections of the respiratory tract in HIV-infected children.

In order to determine whether the rates of respiratory viral infection and the severity of respiratory symptoms in HIV-infected children were higher than those in noninfected children, nose and throat swabs for viral isolation were taken at 3-month intervals during the first 2 years of life from 50 children born to HIV-infected women. Similar samples were obtained during the first year of life from 19 control children born to HIV seronegative mothers. Of the 50 children, five proved to be HIV-infected while 45 were presumed to be uninfected.

Use of intravenous immunoglobulin in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may have an antibody deficiency and a deficiency of cellular immunity. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) preparations may benefit HIV-infected children and adults with recurrent bacterial infections at doses of 200 to 400 mg/kg every 2 to 4 weeks. In addition, IVIG (1 to 2 g/kg) is effective at raising platelet counts to hemostatic levels in HIV-infected patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and life-threatening bleeding.

Non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema after transfusion with granulocyte antibody containing blood: treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

A 45-yr-old man developed severe non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema after a blood transfusion reaction which was resistant to standard therapy. We describe its successful treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in thymoma with hypogammaglobulinaemia: successful outcome of therapy including i.v. IgG replacement.

A 66-year-old patient presented with Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia (PCP) and was found to have hypogammaglobulinaemia, associated with a thymoma that had been resected 17 months earlier. Only one previous case of PCP in association with a thymoma and hypogammaglobulinaemia has been reported, in which the patient died. We report another such patient who was successfully treated with a combination of intravenous immunoglobulin and high dose cotrimoxazole.

Lack of specificity for antibodies to double stranded DNA found in four commercial kits.

Four commercially available kits (three enzyme linked immunosorbent assays and one modified Farr radioimmunoassay) were compared for their ability to detect specifically autoantibodies to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) using 66 patient sera. This was assessed by comparing the results of the kits with those from an ELISA specifically measuring antibodies against highly purified dsDNA, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), native DNA and histones. The RIA and two of the ELISAs seemed equally efficient at detecting antibodies to dsDNA, but all three also detected anti-ssDNA (the RIA being particularly bad for this).

Penetration of administered IgG into the maxillary sinus and long-term clinical effects of intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy on sinusitis in primary hypogammaglobulinaemia.

The influence of long-term intravenous immunoglobulin (i.v. IgG) replacement therapy on the clinical course of chronic sinusitis in patients with primary hypogammaglobulinaemia has not previously been reported.

HLA antigen frequencies in children born to HIV-infected mothers.

Tissue-typing for HLA-A, B, and DR antigens was carried out on 53 babies, 47 of them unrelated, born to mothers known to be HIV-infected from intravenous drug usage or sexual contact with drug users. These babies were followed up to assess whether HLA phenotype was associated with vertical transmission of HIV infection or disease progression. Of the 47 unrelated babies, eight became infected with HIV.

Hepatitis C quantification and sequencing in blood products, haemophiliacs, and drug users.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detected specific hepatitis C viral (HCV) RNA sequences in plasma from 15 of 21 haemophiliacs (12 HCV-antibody positive) and 7 of 27 intravenous drug users (13 HCV-antibody positive). Quantification of RNA-positive samples showed high levels of HCV (10(5) to 10(6) copies of RNA/ml) in infected patients. HCV was more frequently found in haemophiliacs infected with human immunodeficiency virus (11/11 HIV-positive and 4/10 HIV-negative patients).

Diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia from non-invasive sampling of respiratory secretions.

An infant infected with HIV presented with fever, tachypnoea, hypoxia, and radiological evidence of bilateral pneumonitis. Fluorescent antibody technique identified Pneumocystis carinii within 24 hours from secretions obtained by nasopharyngeal aspiration. This rapid, non-invasive method should be the first line investigation of suspected P carinii pneumonia in immunocompromised patients.

Blood transfusion and organ transplantation.

During the last two decades it has been shown that blood transfusion enhances renal allograft survival. Recently, the introduction of cyclosporin A as the leading immunosuppressive agent has generally improved results and the relevance of blood transfusion to organ transplantation is now questioned. This review summarises the vast amount of knowledge on the 'blood transfusion effect in renal transplantation', and we cite important clinical studies of this topic to illustrate the various theories regarding the immune mechanisms responsible for these effects.

Prostaglandin E2 production by rat peritoneal macrophages: role of cellular and humoral factors in vivo in transfusion-associated immunosuppression.

The transfusion of blood is associated with long-term immunosuppression, which has been postulated to influence immunosurveillance and cancer cell killing. The mononuclear phagocyte synthesises large quantities of PGE2, and PGE2 has been shown to inhibit the activity of a range of immunocompetent cell types. The role of mononuclear phagocyte PGE2 synthesis in transfusion-associated immunosuppression, and the elements of transfused blood which control this immunosuppression, were investigated using a transfused rat model.

The effect of endotoxin lipopolysaccharide from different bacterial species on the generation of intracellular inositol trisphosphate and superoxide in a human phagocytic cell line.

The acute effects of endotoxins and lipid A on two intracellular responses, inositol phosphate generation and superoxide production were analysed in the DMSO differentiated premyelocytic leukaemic HL-60 cell line. Short-term incubation (1-10 min) with Escherichia coli-type LPS, Salmonella-type LPS and Lipid A caused significant increases in cellular InsP1 and InsP3, compared with control cells (P less than 0.5-P less than 0.

Ureteric catheterization in the diagnosis of pyelonephritis--an experimental evaluation.

Experimental models of renal infections have been used to determine the accuracy with which the cellular and microbiologic components of ureteric and voided urine reflected the pathologic status of the kidney in pyelonephritis. In acute pyelonephritis, the composition of the ureteric urine reflected the pathologic status of the kidney, although in a few cases ureteric samples were either sterile or cell free. Animals with chronic pyelonephritis in which the lesions were either infected or sterile commonly had sterile ureteric urine.